Easy flowing emulsion (o/w) based spray-dried powder produced using dietary fiber as a wall material

The production of emulsion (o/w) based microstructured food powder through spray drying is a common practice in the food industry due to better shelf-life and easy transportation of the structured material. In general, the emulsion based powder flow behavior is poor due to lipid phase diffusion into the surface. The microstructure transform during spray-drying and the reconstitution of the emulsion powder are also a challenge by preserving the desired physiochemical properties such as emulsion size, stability, the control release kinetics of actives etc. The main objective of this study is to encapsulate the lipid phase using a wall material composed of protein (whey protein) and apple fiber. The stable submicron emulsions (o/w) were prepared using a rotor-stator at room temperature. Different fiber concentrations and different spray drying conditions were tested by varying the air to liquid mass ratio (ALR). The easy flowing of the emulsion powder was achieved when a relatively small amount (max. 5%) of fiber was used; however, the flowing performance declines with higher fiber content. The excellent reconstitution of the emulsion was also found by dissolving the particles at room temperature.